


Traumatized

by brotherfuckers



Series: Striderclan [27]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Incest, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Puppets, Roleplay, Sibling Incest, safe word usage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-24 00:38:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/933070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brotherfuckers/pseuds/brotherfuckers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bro and Dirk convince Dave to try out a new kink with them, puppet sex, which goes horribly awry and they have to call on D to save the day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Traumatized

One of the first things Dave really disagreed with Dirk on, almost violently, was Li’l Cal. Up until John made mention of how creepy the puppet was, right around his thirteenth birthday, Dave had always accepted him into the Strider family. Rose always said something about the puppet being Bro’s coping mechanism to being a mother figure in the twin’s lives. Which struck Dave as odd since Bro wasn’t their mother, they actually had Mom, and he wasn’t their father either, he was just Bro. Though it seemed to help to have an extra pair of hands around the house.

But things cannot be unseen and after John had thrown new light onto the puppet’s presence in the Strider household and how those glassy blue eyes seemed to follow him around the room no matter which direction he was going or which corner he was hiding in, Dave suddenly felt the same way. He didn’t say anything to Bro. He only seemed to react a little more when Bro decided to use Li’l Cal as part of a strife ambush, which Bro thought was hilarious and continued to do so.

Dirk was the one who connected with Bro over his love of puppets, even though he eventually moved into robotics over the traditional materials Bro used in his commissions. He stayed close to Li’l Cal and even has been known to use him as an impromptu snuggle buddy when he finally breaks from an overwhelming work streak.

Between that and the smuppets it didn’t surprise Dave that Dirk and Bro would be interested in trying to include their hobby into their sex lives. It did surprised Dave though that they asked him to be involved as well. But how could he say no to Bro’s salacious grin and Dirk’s hopeful expression.

* * *

“Now keep your limbs loose and limp. You aren’t supposed to move back. Just relax.”

“Well, ya can make noise, of course. I don’t mind your sounds.”

“Yea, duh. But otherwise try not to react, alright Dave?”

The three Striders are already shirtless and sitting on the futon with Dave in the middle. Dave tries not to look too nervous as he nods to Dirk’s suggestion. He takes a deep breath and relaxes into the orange cushions. He keeps his muscles loose and relaxed as Bro and Dirk each lift up a hand and take a felt tipped marker to his skin. They carefully draw lines along his joints to make him look like one of Bro’s marionettes. Dave tries to focus on how in sync his brothers are as they finish his hands and start to move up his arms instead of thinking about what they are making him look like. He restrains any twitching as they lift up his arms to draw the ball joint lines on his elbows and shoulders.

Bro’s hand flutters over his chest to trace out where the lines are going to go before doing the same with the marker. Dirk moves his attentions up to Dave’s face, tilting his limp neck back and then following it for a kiss. When he pulls back, he carefully draws two lines straight down from the corners of Dave’s lips, tucking the ends of the lines under his chin. Dirk quickly reaches behind him and grabs a second marker. Dave briefly sees the red on the cap before he feels the circle being drawn on his cheek. The tip of the marker pushes against the softer skin as Dirk fills the inside. As Dirk starts on the second one, Dave’s mind helpfully supplies the mental comparison of what he thinks he looks like to Li’l Cal’s paint scheme. He starts a little at the thought and both Bro and Dirk chide him for moving.

“Hey now, don’t mess up the lines.”

“Puppets ain’t supposed to move. Learn some control, Davey.”

He takes another deep breath as he tries to hide his shaking. He usually enjoys Bro or Dirk taking control. He loves when he was restrained against touching them with ropes, cuffs, or just commands. But this total submittal of control without a chance to react is causing alarm bells in his head and he can’t exactly explain why. He’s never felt anything but mild unease towards Bro’s puppets. In fact, some of them were cool and even ingenious. But this transformation through marker lines across his skin is making his guts clench up.

He can feel the bulge in Bro’s pants when his hand brushes against Bro’s crotch as Bro scoots closer. He can feel Dirk rubbing faintly against him as well. But his own dick is limp and despite their warm touches and wandering hands, his conflicting feelings keep him from being turned on.

He doesn’t tilt his head forward but glances down at his brothers over his cheeks when they pull back to look at what they have done to him.

“Lookin’ good, li’l man.”

“It’s coming out better than I thought it would.”

They don’t notice the stutter in his breath. Something is really wrong with the situation.

“Strings?”

“Strings.”

His hands are lifted up again. He can’t see what is going on with his limited range of vision but he feels the thin loops of string being wrapped around his wrist, tied off so that they won’t fall off but with enough slack that they aren’t cutting of circulation. More string is applied to his fingers. He can feel Bro’s expertise as the strings rise and fall, giving his hand movement that is not his own. Dave swallows hard in an effort not to pull his hand back.

This is so not okay.

“The real boy is now a puppet. Reversin’ Pinocchio.”

“Let’s do the rest.”

They both reach for Dave’s waist to undo his pants. Then they suddenly freeze and pull their hands away and it takes Dave a moment to realize that he had just shouted, “Pineapple.”

“Dave?” Dirk’s expression is one of concern. Bro’s eye brows are furrowed.

“Pineapple, pineapple, fuck, pineapple, nope nope nope.”

“Dave. Breathe, kid, breathe.”

Dave feels his chest rising and falling but the air really isn’t doing its job when he is hyperventilating.

“You are okay, Dave. Please calm down.”

Can’t move, can’t move, not supposed to move. All of his muscles are ridged as he squeezes his eyes shut, feeling tears leak out of the sides.

“Can’t-”

“It’s okay, Dave.” Both Dirk and Bro reach out for him and as soon as they touch his shoulders, something snaps inside of him. Dave feels like he is mentally breaking restraints on his body as he throws himself off the couch and to his feet knocking away the hands reaching out to him.

“Dave!”

“Pineapple! Fucking pineapple!” He rushes out of the room, throwing the door shut behind him with a loud bang. He immediately locks it and grabs the chair from his desk to prop underneath the door knob. He then launches himself onto his bed and pulls the covers up around him only to kick them off and start tugging on the strings on his wrists and limbs, not really able to see the knots clearly to get them off properly through the tears. He finally gets them off with a couple rope burns stinging his skin. He pulls the blankets up again and sobs broken breaths into his pillow.

* * *

Bro and Dirk look at each other stunned as they listen to the sobs coming through the thin door.

“Oh fuck.”

“What... what happened?” Dirk asks.

“Fuck if I know, but I think we royally fucked it up. We fucked him up? He agreed to this didn’t he?” Bro shakes his head.

“I... I thought so...” Dirk stares down at the marker in his hands, black and red caps. He tosses them quickly across the room. He quickly gets to his feet and goes to the door, knocking softly and then trying the handle when Dave doesn’t answer. The knob catches on the lock but Bro is right there with the pick and quickly undoes it. But then the door catches on something else. Dirk tries to shove through it but only makes the door rattle with the given eighth of an inch. They hear a loud screech from the other side and something heavy hitting the door.

“NO NO NO! Please no! Don’t- Don’t TOUCH ME!”

“Dave! Dave! It’s okay! No more!”

“Bad, bad, felt bad. You tried to make me void. I’m real, I’m real. Fuck! Can’t breathe, can’t feel. AH!”

“Dave! Let us in!” Dirk pounds on the door, shoving his shoulder against it.

“Go away! Can’t touch me! Won’t let you!” His voice is starting to carry a strain to it. “Not an imitation. Not false. Not a PUPPET!”

“You aren’t, Dave. You’re not. Please, Dave.”

They can still hear him but can’t catch more than a word or two as his mutterings are punctuated by sobs and gasps. Dirk repeatedly hits the door, trying to dislodge the other side as Bro steps away. He stumbles over to the futon and sits halfway on the back as he fumbles with his phone.

“Shit, I broke him,” Bro runs a hand through his hair as the sobs in the other room don’t quiet.

“Dave...” Dirk can’t understand it. This was something they were interested in right? Dave has always gone along with what he’s like, has always liked the kinkier stuff, has even done stuff with Bro that Dirk wouldn’t. His brain works furiously trying to figure out what set this off. Dave’s saying stuff like “becoming soulless” and “no control” but he’s always been willing to give up control... oh, that’s it. There must be a difference between him letting Dirk or Bro take control and being a puppet for them to control. Not being able to react to them would be a large part. But even then, they were asking him to become something else, something not real that doesn’t and wouldn’t have any control to give at all. Shit, no wonder Dave reacted like that. “Dave, I’m sorry!”

He doesn’t get anything but more sobs in return.

“D. D, I’ve fucked up,” Bro says into the phone. “No, no one is bleeding, the apartment’s not on fire. No one’s dead. Just-” He breaks off and meets Dirk’s amber eyes. “Uh... we, Dirk and I, tried something new with Dave. And... it didn’t go well.” He pauses. “Well, see, um... puppet sex?” He has to pull the phone away from his ear as D reacts. “Yea, pretty much that badly. Locked himself in his room. Won’t listen to us. Yes. I know. We fucked up. I am the worst guardian ever. You don’t think I’m not beating myself up over this. Fuck. I am the shittiest. He sounds pretty broken. Prolly permanently wrecked the kid. Can’t get to him. The doors not just locked. Yea, that bad. Fuck, never shoulda left me alone with him, D. Fuckin’ screw up. Always screwin’ up. How... how soon can you get here? Right. See ya then, I guess.”

Dirk looks at him expectantly as Bro hangs up the phone. “When-”

“Couple hours. Cool thin’ ‘bout private jets, I guess. Mostly be the flight time. Already runnin’ off set basically after the first sentence.”

“What do we do...”

“Dunno. Self-flagellation?”

* * *

D looks it up on his phone as the plane is taking off just to see if it is as bad as he thought it would be and yea, it is. He hits his head against the jet’s window at the stupidity of his brothers. He made it clear to the pilots that he needed the plane to go as fast as it could and they actually nearly had the wheels moving before he could close the door, but there are still physics to consider and hours between LA and Houston.

* * *

He broke nearly every speed limit and probably ran a couple red lights that lay between the airport and the apartment. He knows the wheels were squealing as he made the last turn into the parking lot and can smell the burnt rubber as he dashes from the car to the lobby. The stairs fly under his feet as he easily takes three at a time up to their floor. Dirk flinches at his entrance but Bro just bows his head a little more. D ignores them both and goes directly to the bedroom door.

“Dave? Hey little man. The not-an-ass big brother is here. Mind letting me in?” He listens closely but only hears a soft snuffling sound but nothing to indicate Dave is moving. “I’m coming in, one way or another, bro. Just to give you warning.”

He turns away from the door and faces the main room again. Bro hasn’t moved but Dirk looks up at him with an expression of hope crossed with anxiety.

“I’ll deal with you two later,” D tells them sternly before leaving the apartment again. He makes a quick loop up to the roof and then down the fire escape. It doesn’t quite line up with their bedroom window and D makes a mental note to find and strangle the architect who did the poor design which would save no one in case of an actual fire.

It’s close enough that one can step from the metal platform to the window if said window was already open. But with it being closed, it’s one step harder. He eyes the thin ledge that will hold him long enough to get the window open. The shit he does for his brothers.

There is only one slightly gut clenching moment as he is suspended from the side of the building before he is safely indoors again in the bedroom. He notices the discarded strings that were tossed away, probably violently, but as they are just string, they didn’t get very far. D shakes his head again at the two idiots sitting in the other room. They just have to do things to the nth degree, don’t they.

The mound of blankets on Dave’s bed shakes quietly in time with the soft upset sounds D hears.

“Dave?” he speaks quietly as not to startle the younger Strider but to let him know that he is there as he slowly approaches the bed. “Hey dude. Those morons out there told me what went down. At least some of it. Gnarly stuff from what I heard but I think you might have freaked them out with your freak out, not that your freak out wasn’t warranted, hell I am surprised they aren’t bleeding ‘cause if I were in your place there would be missing limbs but I’m glad you didn’t take anybody out because it would be awkward if I flew back from LA just to help you hide the body.” He pauses at the edge of the bed. “Gonna take a look at the damage, ‘kay?” He grabs and pulls the sheets down and finds Dave’s face red and blotchy from the crying. There are red marks along his arms and chest too from where he apparently had been scratching at the marker lines. D’s breath catches in his throat and he sees black for the waiting brothers.

Instead though he takes a deep breath and offers a comforting smile to Dave and pulls him into a hug. Dave’s arms instantly wrap around his neck and he presses his face into D’s jacket, smearing tears and snot into the nice fabric. D doesn’t care. He just rubs Dave’s back and lets him cry it out.

“Hey little bro, it’s okay. It’s alright,” he murmurs into his blonde hair. “You’re alright. Not gonna let those jerkoffs do it again. You aren’t and never will be a puppet. You are too cool for that. That’s not how you do things. That’s not how they are supposed to do things either. Going to kick both of their asses to the moon, if that’s alright with you.” Dave nods against D. “Perfect. You can take a front row seat if you want. In the meantime, let’s undo what they did and get you back to being Dave of Guy. I hear there is a nice hot shower with your name on it, with a personal piece of famous hot ass as your attendant. How does that sound?” He gets another nod so D helps him get untangled from the sheets and to his feet.

He side-eyes the marks that Bro and Dirk made and mentally agrees with Dave over how utterly creepy they are and cannot fathom how that shit is sexy. He removes the chair from in front of the door and leads the way with Dave tucked up under his arm. He catches Dirk getting to his feet at the door opening but Dirk freezes under the glare D is giving him. D keeps himself in between the other Striders and Dave as he ushers him to the shower.

D keeps him turned away from mirror as he starts the water and quickly strips and gets Dave’s jeans off as well. Dave wraps his arms around D as they wait for the water to heat up. As soon as the steam fills the room, D pushes him into the shower and follows after with a washcloth in hand. D thanks the powers that be that his imbecile brothers used washables instead of permanent markers as he wipes away the black lines and red spots from Dave’s skin.

* * *

Dirk sinks back down as the bathroom door closes behind them, his heart sinking into a bottomless pit. That look that D gave him, that spoke miles about how much he fucked things up. Fucked thing up with his twin. Dave’s never responded like that before to anything. Yea, they’ve disagreed with shit before but they’ve always compromised or just agreed to disagree. Dirk’s never seen Dave like that before. And Dirk helped do that to him. Dirk feels like he probably just ruined his relationship with his twin forever.

Dave’s always been his support, his best friend on top of being his twin. He is literally the only person Dirk is comfortable breaking down in front of when his own mental stress pushes him too far. Dave is the only person Dirk can really give control over to because he trusts him with everything, but now... Dirk clenches his fists at the thought. But now, what if Dave can’t trust him back?

He feels the cushion next to him shift and he realizes he’s closed his eyes against the flood of tears over being upset with himself. Bro’s arm wraps around his shoulders.

“Shh, ‘s ‘kay. D’ll fix it. My fault, li’l man. My ass on the line.”

Dirk shakes his head violently. He understands the line he just crossed a little better than his older brother because he has similar control issues he realizes now. Except his are a lot closer to the surface, but that doesn’t mean Dave doesn’t have them. And the two of them just steamrolled right over that boundary.

“I should have know, I should have realized...”

And there is nothing he can do right now to fix it.

* * *

D gets a grin out of Dave as he overly fluffs the towel over his head and makes his hair stand up in all direction. He gets a laugh as he lunges after Dave to do the same thing to his head. He gets Dave as dried as possible and subtly checks for any missed marker spots before ordering the kid to put on his pants before doing the same. He opts to join the dress code and leaves his shirt and jacket off, instantly regretting the decision as he opens the bathroom door that served as the barrier between him and the cold air.

“Jesus shit! Why do you people keep it like Antarctica in here. Do you realize how much we spend on air conditioning? That’s where all of my movie making money goes. To keep your bitch asses nice and frosty apparently. Why need a refrigerator when it’s so cold out here? Oh I know, to keep things from fucking freezing! I’m going to go warm up in there with the rest of the shitty swords and leftover pizza.” During his rant he glances down at Dave and sees his hesitation over going out to face his brothers still. “Why don’t you go chill out in your room and I’ll bring some choice AJ, perfectly chilled from sitting out on the counter in this walk-in freezer of an apartment, when I’m done dealing with these knuckleheads?”

Dave nods and scurries off, still avoiding looking at the spiky haired brothers. D however has no such issue.

“You second,” he points at Bro. “You,” he points at Dirk who visibly curls up on himself. “First things first. He doesn’t hate you.” D watches the reaction on Dirk’s face as he correctly predicts what his younger brother is thinking. “Second thing, yes, that was stupid. And you probably have figured out exactly why with your freaky twin thing and stupid intelligence. It’s okay to fuck up sometimes, but you just have to be prepared to make it right. And promise never to do the same fuck up twice.”

“I promise, I promise, oh god, I swear!” The words almost trip over themselves coming out of Dirk’s mouth.

“I know you do, that’s why I’m not worried.” D’s shoulders relax down and he moves around to kneel in front of Dirk. “Now, are you alright?”

“Huh?”

“His freakout probably freaked you out too. So, are you alright?”

Dirk glances down at his hands where they are clenched tight. He slowly relaxes them but can’t stop the slight tremors. “I- I will be?”

“Just remember that he doesn’t hate you and never will, ‘kay?” Dirk nods. “Okay I gotta deal with the other moron in the room. We’ll be taking this to the roof so just be cool, little bro. Why don’t you get him some apple juice as a peace offering? You can try to talk to Dave, but just don’t rush him. Make sure he knows he’s allowed to ask for more time or space.” Dirk nods again and gets up. He swings by the kitchen to pick up a bottle of apple juice and a bottle of orange juice. D can tell he is hiding his nerves as he walks with head level to the bedroom door. He pauses and makes a mental decision. He switches both bottles to one hand and knocks with the other.

“Dave? It’s Dirk. D-Do you still want the apple juice?” He winces as his voice cracks. He glances back at D when there is no immediate response but D just nods supportively. “Uh... I guess I’ll leave it here,” he tells Dave as he kneels by the door to set the bottle down. The door swings open and there is a momentary pause as red eyes look down at amber looking up. Then Dirk is surging forward to wrap his arms around Dave’s thighs in an awkward half embrace.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don’t hate me,” Dirk mumbles into Dave who reaches down and pets his twin’s hair.

“Come on, doofus. I don’t hate you. Where’s my AJ at?”

“Oh! Oh, uh, okay, I- here’s the apple juice.” He grabs the bottle that he nearly knocked over and hands it up to Dave. Then he just stays there on his knees not sure if he should move or not and waiting for some sign from Dave.

“You look good on your knees, bro. But come on, bed’s comfier,” Dave tilts his head into the room and then steps back with Dirk scrambling after him.

D lets out a sigh as the twins seem to be alright. He was about ninety-nine percent sure it would work out between them as it always does no matter the argument. But there is always that slight chance...

He turns his attention to the last brother in the set.

“You fucker.” He stands up. “Roof. Now. Jackass.”

* * *

He had time to collect his thoughts and work out the argument with possible responses from Bro on the plane. But the moment’s head start on the roof helped him to finalize his notes. With everyone’s pants still on, it wasn’t as bad as he originally imagined but that it still happened was upsetting for everyone.

“So I am going to assume that it was actually a joint idea between you and Dirk before you jump in and try to take credit for this catastrophe like I know you are about to. And no, I won’t allow you to argue it any other way. Dirk’s done his piece but now it’s time for yours since you are the guardian, you don’t get the nice treatment. You get the smack down.” He turns around as he asks the question to see Bro’s sword down and shoulders slumped in defeat already. “Now, what the fuck were you thinking?”

“We asked him, ya know. The kid said yes when we asked. It’s not like we forced him to do it at all,” Bro’s tone is planative as he tries to argue with both D and himself.

"When has Dave ever said no to you, either of you, let alone the both of you?"

"He shoulda said no if he didn't wanna,” Bro snaps back. “That's why we have consent rules in this house."

“He probably thought he could handle it. He wanted to indulge your and Dirk’s kink because you mean so much to him even though puppets aren’t his thing. But you are the guardian, Bro, don't you know how he reacts to Cal?"

"Cal?" This throws Bro off a little.

"Yea, the puppet you torment him with," D explains with exasperation.

"But it's just Cal,” Bro tries to shrug it off.

"Oh christ." D facepalms. “He’s been freaked out by Cal since he was about thirteen. Or did you think he was just affecting those girly screams for your perverse enjoyment?”

“What?” D can hear the genuine confusion in his voice.

“You asshole.” Bro doesn’t even lift his arms to ward off the flashstepping punch that hits him in the face. “Why haven’t you-” another right hook “-been paying attention to-” a kick to the stomach “-your little brother-” Bro finally raises his swords just to let D’s ring cleanly against it “-enough to realize-” the flurry of blows are just barely blocked “-how much Cal-” the punch doesn’t catch him off guard but Bro does nothing to hide from its sting “-creeps him out!” The hit knocks Bro back a couple steps. D is breathing hard at the exertion and the emotions behind it. He knows he is using Bro to release some of the stress that has been building up since the phone call, but he also knows that Bro needs this. Bro believes in penance when he screws up. He feels the need to be punished before he can be forgiven.

He leaps into another series of attacks that is a mixture of punches and sword swipes. Bro lets the punches land but carefully minimizes the impact of D’s sword until he lets the tip graze him across the chest where it would have just torn his shirt if he had one on. Without one, a thin line of red marks the path, not deep enough to do more than bring blood to the surface. D backs off a little before having to bring up his own guard at Bro takes a lazy swipe at him. D nods at the decision to continue despite the injury that would normally terminate the strife.

Bro takes all of the blows and scrapes as he also mentally berates himself with self loathing. Not only did he try to initiate something sexual that was really triggering for his little brother in more ways than he understands but he had been toying with such a line over the years and never even noticed that Dave had actual issues with Cal which apparently were obvious enough for D, who wasn’t even around most of the time with work, to accurately pinpoint as the problem. Bro was not unaware of the creep factor that some puppets could possess. He just never associated Cal with that particular quality and while Dave might not be scared of Li’l Cal, the puppet obviously sat unwell with him. And Bro just tried to make Dave mimic that.

Such a loser, he thinks to himself as he takes another punishing blow that makes his muscles ache down to the bone. Didn’t even try. A hot splash of pain cuts across his shoulder. He’s tempted to leverage D’s sword to make more injuries, maybe cut off a limb or two, when D notices the shift and preemptively knocks Bro’s sword out of the way and kicks him in the chest.

The follow up blow knocks Bro onto his back with him curling up to meet the sword already leveled across his neck, sharp edge away. D forces him back down until both shoulders and the back if his head are against the rooftop.

"Look here, you sack of shit. You did not break him. He is a hell of a lot stronger than that because we raised him. You,” he emphasises with a press of his sword and a glare in his eyes, “raised him to be stronger than that. You scared him, yes. You fucked up. Monumentally. And yes, he had a breakdown. But you did not break him.” He punctuates each word with jabs of his bony knees against Bro’s ribs. “Takes a lot more than that to break a Strider, shit-for-brains. Now do I need to break a few ribs or are you satisfied with the beating you've gotten?"

Bro looks up at him with golden eyes filled with angst. He meets the burgundy ones filled with concern. He sighs heavily. “I surrender.”

D leans down and kisses him lightly, his sword falling to the side. "You didn't break him, idiot, you didn’t fuck him up. But since you lost the strife, you'll do as I say and we are talking this shit out because he needs it as much as you need patching up, you masochist. Also no ironic bullshit, no flash stepping surprise attacks, no notes, no puppets for the next week. No, make it two weeks."

When Bro nods, D pulls him up to his feet. “Good. Time for some serious snuggles.” He pokes at Bro’s already swelling cheek and eyes some of Bro’s bleeding wounds. “As well as some first aid.”

* * *

Dirk finds the soft rise and fall of Dave’s chest paired with the gentle stroking of fingers through his hair very soothing. He basks in the relief that his brother is okay, that they are going to be okay, that his twin won’t leave him for a fuck up like that. He squeezes Dave’s torso and nuzzles his face against the clean skin. Their legs are tangled up in the sheets.

He squishes into Dave when he feels his brother tense up at the door to the apartment opening. Dirk hears two sets of footsteps even if one is a little off kilter. They go straight to the bathroom and he can hear the medicine cabinet being opened. There is a rhythm between hisses of breath and the rip of bandaging material. Dirk lifts his head after a while to share a confused glance with Dave. They both internally wondered if Bro was missing body parts with how much medical paraphernalia D is using. Eventually it stops and they hear ice being scooped from the freezer. Both Dirk and Dave expectantly watch the bedroom door.

Dirk’s jaw drops and Dave giggles at the bandaged mess Bro is when he comes sheepishly into the room, trailing D.

“You pull off the beat up look well, Bro. Should let it happen more,” Dave jokes.

“Well maybe I would if there was more than one Strider who could pull it off.”

“Nope. None of that. Cuddle time. Look at how Dirk is doing it. He’s doing it perfectly. A model Strider that we all should look up to.” D pulls and pushes Bro onto the bed so that he has to scoot up close to Dave. After a moment’s hesitation, Dave grabs him and pulls him closer. D supervises as Dirk shifts to take Dave’s other side and to make room for three Striders across before jumping on at the end and draping himself across all of them.

“Now, my pretties, that I have you trapped, we are talking this shit through. I’m not taking any objections and no lies. Just full uncomfortable honesty. So to start, Dave, are you doing alright?” He nods. “Nope, say it out loud.”

“Yea, I’m alright, Chill as a slurpee.”

“Okay good. Dirk, are you alright?”

“Ninety-five percent chance I’m good. Just glad we won’t be going to some crazy mystic mumbo jumbo hag (like Rose) to have our twin bond permanently severed so Dave doesn’t have to live with my bullshit anymore. Glad that’s not happening.”

The three other Striders just stare at him for a moment before moving on.

“Bro?”

“Feeling tenderized, but mollified if Dave is alright. You still get to take a shot at me. Even a cheap one to take advantage of the beating D just gave.”

“You look like a mummy.”

Bro moans as he squishes towards Dave making him laugh at the cheesy monster sound.

“Okay, good all around even if I have more gray hairs because of you fuckers. Seriously, my roots kit is coming out of your allowances.” D rearranges himself into a more serious position. “So. We are all agreed that what happened was a bad idea. What we need to understand is why it went so bad now that we have level heads again.”

"Well, I mean some puppets are kinda creepy, but that wasn't really too big a deal. I mean, it wouldn't have been the deal breaker for that kink." Dave shifts around as he sorts his thoughts. "I didn't like what you guys wanted me to be though. I like powerplay and fighting for control even if I usually lose. But you guys wanted me to be a puppet, which is just lifeless and unreacting and can't participate, just be used. It made me feel like I didn't exist like you were trying to erase who I am and just take the shell. I didn’t feel like Dave anymore."

“Oh Dave, I’m so sorry,” Dirk holds him tight and presses his face into his shoulder. He pulls his legs in, trapping Dave’s against his.

“Ya know we didn’t mean it like that, li’l man, right? That’s not at all what we wanted.”

“I know. But that’s what it felt like. And it didn’t feel good and I don’t want to do it again.”

“Ya dun have to.”

“Never ever again,” Dirk affirms, making Dave squeak a little with how tight he holds on. “We’ll keep the puppet shit between us spikey headed dorks ‘cause we’re freaks who don’t deserve a sweetheart brother like you.”

“Well... We can keep the smuppets,” Dave mumbles out. “They’re not creepy.”

Bro laughs as D makes a face up at him. “Seriously? Those freak me out a little.”

“Oh c’mon big bro, that’s not what you said the other day. Gave that orange one a nice ride and when I had that new vibratin’ one up your a-”

“Nope!” D cuts in. “Enough. I declare this talking shit out session done! Cuddle time.” He squeezes himself up on top of the Strider pile, ignoring complaints about his sharps knees and elbows. “Jeez, no wonder we don’t do this often. You guys are freaks.”

Dave reaches up and pats D on the head. “Hey D,” he starts quietly, “you are one of the freaks too.”

“Noooooo!” he mock flails until Bro reaches up and pins him down.

“Yup and you ain’t gettin’ outta it, Strider.”

D smirks down at him and stretches down to kiss him on his swollen cheek with enough pressure to make Bro wince. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> For more information please check out our work at striderclan.tumblr.com; we have more stories, head canons, art/pictures.


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